Well, after 8 (or 9 tries if including this one), here's what I decided ended up writing.) I'd tell you what I wrote in the other ones… but I don't think you'd handle the implosion. So I went with what I seem to do best… fluff!

Enjoy!

P.S. Tell me how much my skills have deteriorated… it's been half a month after all. Now that I'm back in school… I'm enjoying my writing again. Weird how that works eh?

X X X X X X X X X X X

As they returned from the festival, Kurumu's eyes turned downwards, right where her and Ichigo's hands intertwined tenderly. Even though he didn't seem like it, he was indeed paying attention to her. Every so often, when their eyes would meet, his thumb would gently run over her fingers in a caring gesture. It made her skin tingle, but in a pleasant and heart-warming way.

"Thanks for everything!" The even-more-than-usual bubbly Orihime bid goodnight to her friends. "I had so much for tonight! I hope… that we can hang out like this again soon."

Tatsuki nodded, but only Ichigo heard that slight break in her words; a tone of askance. He replied with, "Sure, that'd be fine."

His reply left the girl with a sense of contentment and a burden-free heart as she disappeared behind her apartment door. "Good job." Ichigo heard Kurumu's whisper of congratulations and couldn't help but smile.

"Easy there. Don't start sucking each other's faces until after I leave." She smirked when Ichgo glared at her, but that look quickly became one of confusion as he smirked back.

Unaware of what was about to transpire, Kurumu suddenly found herself in strong arms. Whether it was the shroud of night or the empowering moonlight, Ichigo captured her frame and stared down with a resolute fierceness that nearly stopped Kurumu's heart. Only a breath later was she captured in an equally fiery kiss. She reciprocated after her initial shock. Ichigo pulled away, leaving her slightly frazzled at the brief, yet intense kiss.

"You…" And that was all Tatsuki could say with a gaping mouth and flaming cheeks. Though Ichigo was embarrassed in his own manner as the tips of his ears turned red. Yet, unlike Tatsuki, he held a proud grin.

"That was hot…" Kurumu murmured a moment later, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she struggled to calm her beating heart. Her hair seemed as razzled as she was as she could not get it to stay in one spot, no matter how much she tried to placate it! She blew out a sigh. Yep, she was definitely hot and bothered now. She eyed her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye. He was definitely going to have to do something about that later on.

"Fine, you win!" Tatsuki admitted defeat as she tossed one hand into the air. Ichigo bugged her for a bit, but only for a bit on the way to her apartment. He didn't want to incur her full wrath. Sure, in spirit form he could take down skyscrapers easily. But in his human body, he still was weak and susceptible to noogies and choke holds. They held relatively pleasant conversation all the way up until they made it back to Tatsuki's abode. Tatsuki bid Moka and Kurumu goodnight while she simply glared at Ichigo, which he promptly returned. But it was all in good spirits… for the most part.

Once the coast was clear—clear as in having moved away from Tatsuki's home—Moka immediately latched onto Ichigo's free arm. Her wide eyes looked at Ichigo as he turned towards her. She smiled and he reciprocated with a small grin.

With two girls on either side, he became the center of attention to anyone that was up as late as they were. Even if he didn't care what anyone else thought, he still wondered what would happen if his other friends saw him like this? What would their reactions be? What would he do?

Kurumu lifted her hand and gestured with a finger at his face. "Did you notice that you always scowl when you think too hard? And you frown too." Then she patted his arm and gave it a squeeze. "Not to mention that you tense up a bit," and, feeling the solid muscle, she grinned, "Not that I mind."

Ichigo couldn't help but shake his head at her shameless flirting… despite having a huge grin on his face, as uncharacteristic as it was for him. From an outside perspective, it was almost amazing how much progress he made with regards to women and touching… despite how long it took! Another tug made him turn the other way. Ah yes, who could forget the demure and polite Moka? Having a girl like that as a girlfriend would almost be too good to be true. Fate seemed to agree as Moka held a secret hidden by the Rosario she wore: A ferocious inner self with pride to match the elite of the elite. A fierceness only glimpsed when the Rosario was taken off. And what a glimpse it was!

"I don't mind either." Moka spoke with a tone of honey. The look on her face was just as sweet, making Ichigo's heart beat a little faster.

"Yeah, but don't forget," Kurumu interjected, "I saw him first!" She gave the pink-haired Vampire a contesting smile, one which Moka was glad to return. Sparks flew in the space between their eyes and Ichigo could only scratch his head and look at the scene with mild amusement. He supposed it was better than them actually fighting each other. But it was getting late and he was getting a little tired, though, he realized whenever he was around Kurumu he felt like he had more energy. Even in his physical body. Curious. He shook his head before separating the conflicting girls by pressing their foreheads with his palm and pushing outwards. Even as the girls backed off, they still managed to send one last lightning bold in a miniature clash of mini-epic proportions.

They managed to make it back home with little calamity. The door softly opened, barely audible even to the people opening the door. But Isshin, despite having a dream of fighting robot zombies, knew that his son had returned. He was tempted to mess with him, but he noticed how smoothly his reiatsu flowed. It wasn't a crashing wave or an oppressive force like usual. It was more like being submerged in a gentle, if vast, stream and letting the relaxing flow of the waves encompass one's being. Isshin nodded to himself and before long, he fell back asleep with his thumb in his mouth.

"Something the matter?" Kurumu asked upon noticing her suddenly troubled 'tiger.'

"No." Well, not anymore, he thought. For a second he felt like bracing himself for misfortune. Then the feeling subsided, leaving him more confused than anything else.

"Well," Kurumu placed a hand on his arm and stroked it. Something she'd been doing a lot, it seemed. "If you want, I can help you relax." She sent him a very suggestive glance that Ichigo picked up on right away. What made him gulp was not her seductiveness… well, that to… but more that he was actually considering and intrigued by her proposal. He remembered how soft her skin was and how wondrously tempting it had been when he had nearly gotten a glimpse of her bare chest.

"Ah, well." He turned away, feeling his body react to his thoughts. An idea popped his mind, though he wondered why as he said. "My family is still here." That seemed to do the trick as Kurumu gave him a deflated look. Truthfully, he felt quite displeased with himself that he even mentioned it.

Meanwhile, the main couple failed to realize a certain girl as the gears clicked and whirred inside her head. While it was true that she wanted the same thing as Kurumu, if Ichigo wasn't experienced, he probably wouldn't be receptive to her. At least, that's what her inner self told her. She also told her that only a Vampire could ever please a man like Ichigo. So, despite her heart not being fully into the idea, she said, "Why don't you go to a hotel?"

"That's…" Kurumu thought about it before her features brightened considerably."A great idea!"

Ichigo's heart picked up its pace upon hearing it. This time, he couldn't find anything to counter it… and he was glad he couldn't. He couldn't even stop himself from being excited at the prospect of touching his girlfriend more as he glanced at her, looking at her with slight longing in his eyes.

"But…" Kurumu tilted her head as she thought aloud, "I didn't see any on my way over here." Rest assured, she had made a few quick pit-stops before arriving at Ichigo's house. Those pit-stops included any place where they could have some, ah… private time. Surprisingly, there were none. Then again, Karakurachou wasn't that kind of place.

Ichigo found himself even more disappointed than before. Got to love those hormones, eh?

Kurumu thrust her hand over her hips, a keenly troubled look on her beautiful face. She was still very bothered, and hot. Not that thinking about her current state helped her very much. Ever since the festival, she had been having vivid dreams about her and Ichigo, sharing a bed… and each other. His earlier kiss hadn't helped as with each step she had taken since then, she felt a heat in her core that almost became unbearable. She was only relieved from said heat when she was distracted by mundane things, or in some cases, her fights with Moka. She sighed, and it came to her attention that the friction from her Yukata was actually quite… nice. She bit her lip as she looked towards the person of her desires, simply standing there looking manly… his scowl making him look even stronger… his large, strong hands clenching and… and… why were they clenching?

Taking a grip on herself, she asked, "What's wrong Ichigo?" When he glanced towards her, her breath caught in her throat as she realized he was JUST as bothered as she was. In a strange way, that calmed her own tension; knowing that she wasn't alone and that her boyfriend shared the same wondrous torture as she did. Yet, it was compelling at the same time as well.

"Well it's just…" As for Ichigo, it wasn't like he was going to blurt out what he was thinking. True, he was rather blunt and straightforward, but he wasn't an airhead. He looked into his girlfriend's violet eyes and noticed their brilliance. They were round and vibrant and hard to miss. Her stare… aroused him.

"Alright, that's enough." Moka huffed as she couldn't handle anymore of their love-dovey attitude. The couple smiled sheepishly, but that did nothing to abate the strange, pleasant tension that seemed to surround them. Moka shook her head, but admittedly was jealous that they were so close that they could read each other's bodies… though something told her that they wanted to do something more than simply 'read.'

But the clock said it was getting late, and she supposed they needed their sleep. "We should head to bed now…" Almost as soon as she let those words loose, Moka regretted it.

"I wish!" Kurumu stomped a foot, her tone strained at the possibilities going through her head with said contraption. "Oh how I wish."

Ichigo's ears turned red in reply as he coughed, looking at the clock for a distraction even as his own mind swirled. "Yeah, it is getting kinda late." Realizing it was indeed very late, his body actually felt a little more tired now. Though, looking at Kurumu usually made all that go away. So basically... he had to not think about her. He almost face-palmed when he realized that was going to be impossible. His mind was practically Kurumuville.

And so ignoring their plight, they headed off to sleep… after showering of course!

X

To say that the shower cooled her down… would be wrong. She was clean, she'd definitely admit to that. But she wasn't satiated. She suppose she could use Ichigo's closet, but somehow the thought didn't seem right. Then there was Moka. What if she happened to open the closet for whatever reason? What could say if she was caught with her hand in her pants? She'd probably understand… but be seriously freaked out. No, she couldn't take the chance. She sighed as she messed with a stray strand standing somewhere silently in front of her. She blew on it, and though she couldn't see it well, she was sure it was waving in front of her. She didn't understand how Moka slept in here. It was too stuffy.

So she rolled to her side and slid the door open. Moka was sleeping comfortably in Ichigo's bed, not a care in the world… that you could care while you were asleep. Unless you were lucid dreaming, but that's an entirely different matter!

With the stealth of a ninja, she crept out. She went all the way downstairs, startled only once when she heard a particularly frightful snore that nearly sent her tumbling down said stairs. For once, her heart was beating without Ichigo being the source. Upon opening the front door, she took a breath of the cool night air as a breeze sailed by. It was chilly, but pleasantly so. She just wished she had someone to share it with.

"Kurumu?" Surprise and delight graced the girl's features as she turned upwards and saw Ichigo on the roof. He was in his body, but was playing with his badge. She wondered why as she jumped onto the rooftop. Ichigo could only stare as, despite her surprisingly decent pajamas, her chest still visiblys bounced. It was only natural, she only wore her sexy-wear when there was a chance… and she hadn't expected one that night. She shivered lightly as the cold raced from her foot to her spine.

"Hey," She plopped herself down next to him. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"No." He he said with a sigh as he continued fiddling with his badge.

"Is something on your mind?" She asked.

'Yeah, you.' He wanted to say, but he didn't know where that path would lead to. Well, he knew a bit, but it wasn't a path he wanted. No, he wanted it, but it wouldn't be an opportune moment to say it now. At least the fresh air was nice.

"Nothing really." He said after a short pause. "Just thinking about things."

Ichigo leaned backwards against the slanted roof. It was times like this where, as odd as it sounded, he felt in tune with nature. More precisely, peace. All the fights he'd had were all okay and well, but simple moments were what he enjoyed most. And being here with his girlfriend definitely counted as one of those moments.

"You're weird." Ichigo heard her say.

Ichigo stared, dumb-founded. "What, why?"

She grinned cheekily. "You just are."

She received a flat look. "You're weird for calling me weird and not explaining it."

She shook her head playfully. "Nuh-uh! You are!"

Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed. "No, you are."

She shook her head once more. "No, you!"

"You!"

"You!"

"No you!"

"No YOU!"

Ichigo scowled at her, but Kurumu let out a light laugh that simply made him give up. "What was that about?" He inquired.

Kurumu looked at him before turning away with a shrug. "Nothing. You looked like you were thinking too hard and I wanted to lighten up the mood."

"Or annoy me." He said accusingly.

"Or both." She smiled at him, knowing that she won the battle. Then a colder breeze blew by and made her shiver. Seeing this, Ichigo's protective instinct kicked in and he scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and tucking her head close to his chest.

Kurumu felt her cheeks heat up, but felt pleasantly warm. It seemingly overrode all of her earlier feelings. This was nice, plain and simple. "How gentlemanly of you."

She felt his shrug. "I try."

She placed a gentle hand over his. "And I like it very much!" She replied as she scooted closer to him.

A moment went by where they simply enjoyed the silence and each other. "You know, I just realized it took me a full year to win your heart."

"Really?" He hadn't really kept track of time, so he wouldn't know.

She nodded against him. "Yep. You didn't know a single thing about girls back then." He knew she was teasing him, but he still got annoyed. "But now… you have a girlfriend, two in fact." This time, Kurumu craned her neck so she could at least see part of Ichigo's face. "How do you feel about that?"

Ichigo thought about it. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. "I won't bite you know." She reassured him.

He picked up his head slightly so he could look at her. "I know." And gave her a heart-warming smile. Then he said honestly, "It already happened I guess. Might as well accept it."

Kurumu squeezed his hand that rested over her stomach with a kind touch. "I'm glad you said that because one of these days Ichigo, we're gonna rock your bed all night long!" Though her face was blushing at such a bold statement, she couldn't help but laugh when Ichigo went all stiff.

"I can't believe I'm dating such a crazy girl." He groused, but good-naturedly.

"I can't believe I'm dating such a thick-headed man." She countered just as playfully. Ichigo couldn't help but let that corner of his lip tug upward into a smile.

"Man I love you." He simply said.

"I love you too."

They spent the rest of the night, and in fact, woke up the next morning on the roof.

They ended up staying at home with a cold the next day.